| Dick Radatz | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Relief Pitcher | |
| Born:(1937-04-02)April 2, 1937 Detroit, Michigan, U.S. | |
| Died: March 16, 2005(2005-03-16) (aged 67) Easton, Massachusetts, U.S. | |
Batted: Right Threw: Right | |
| MLB debut | |
| April 10, 1962, for the Boston Red Sox | |
| Last MLB appearance | |
| August 15, 1969, for the Montreal Expos | |
| MLB statistics | |
| Win–loss record | 52–43 |
| Earned run average | 3.13 |
| Strikeouts | 745 |
| Saves | 120 |
Stats atBaseball Reference  | |
| Teams | |
| Career highlights and awards | |
| |
Richard Raymond Radatz (April 2, 1937 – March 16, 2005) was an Americanrelief pitcher inMajor League Baseball. Nicknamed "The Monster", the 6 ft 6 in (1.98 m), 230 lb (100 kg) right-hander had a scorching but short-lived period of dominance for theBoston Red Sox in the early 1960s. Radatz is reported to have gotten his nickname during a game against theNew York Yankees in Boston in 1963. Radatz came in to pitch with the basis loaded and no one out. Radatz consecutively struck outMickey Mantle,Roger Maris, andElston Howard, and Mantle grumbled about Radatz being "that monster".[1] Over his career Radatz struck outBaseball hall of famer Mantle 12 times in 16 at-bats.[2]
As of 2025, Radatz owns the record for the most strikeouts in a single season by a reliever in MLB history, striking out 183 batters in 1964. This broke his own record when he struck out 162 the year prior in 1963. OnlyMark Eichhorn has been able to best Radatz' 1963 single season strikeout total, when Eichhorn fanned 166 batters in 1986.
Born inDetroit, Radatz was the first child of Virginia (Osterman) and Norman Radatz, an automotive engineer and body design draftsman. Radatz grew up inBerkley, Michigan, in the same neighborhood that producedDetroit Tigers pitcherHal Newhouser. Norman Radatz had known Newhouser when Newhouser was young, and Dick Radatz grew up admiring Newhouser. Radatz attendedBerkley High School, where he played football, baseball, and basketball.[3]
He was a starbasketball andbaseball player atMichigan State University before signing with the Red Sox as an amateurfree agent in 1959.[4] Another future MLB relief pitcher,Ron Perranoski, was Radatz's roommate at Michigan State. In 1957, Radatz and Perranoski played for theWatertown Lake Sox of theBasin League inSouth Dakota, where he had a 10-1 record. Radatz returned in 1958 and led the Basin League with 107 strike outs. As a Michigan State senior, he was 10–1 with a 1.12 ERA.[3] Originally astarting pitcher when he began his professional career, Radatz compiled a 16–10 record and 3.48earned run average in his first two seasons in the Red Soxfarm system.
A sore arm ledSeattle RainiersmanagerJohnny Pesky to convert him into a reliever in 1961 against Radatz's will.[5] The experiment worked, as Radatz earned a job out ofspring training the following season as a non-roster invitee.
Radatz was immediately dominant at the major league level, as he pitched 18.1innings and recorded sixsaves before surrendering his firstearned run on May 15, 1962, against the Yankees (a game which the Red Sox won, and Radatz earned his seventh save).[6] He went on to lead theAmerican League in saves (24),games (62) and reliefwins (9), while posting a 2.24 ERA in 124.2 innings his rookie season, earning the AL'sFireman of the Year byThe Sporting News.[3][7]
Yankee managerRalph Houk, who said, "For two seasons, I've never seen a betterpitcher,"[8] added Radatz to his1963 ALAll-Star squad after a 33 scoreless inning streak[3] saw his ERA dip to 0.88 on June 14. He gave up one earned run in twoinnings pitched, but impressed withstrikeouts ofWillie Mays,Dick Groat,Duke Snider,Willie McCovey andJulián Javier.[9] For the season, he saved 23 games and went 15–6 with a 1.97 ERA, becoming the first pitcher in history to have consecutive 20-save seasons and finishing fifth in MVP voting despite Boston's seventh-place finish.
The Red Sox toyed with the idea of converting Radatz back into a starter for the 1964 season.[10] Instead, he remained in thebullpen, and earned his second Fireman of the Year award in 1964[7] for his league-leading 29 saves with 16 wins and a 2.29 ERA in 79 games. Most notably, he fanned 181 batters in 157 innings, setting a record that still stands for most strikeouts by a relief pitcher in a single season.[11] He was named to the AL'sAll-Star Game pitching staff again in1964, and struck out the first two batters he faced when he entered the game in the eighth inning. He was, however, unable to hold onto the AL's 4–3 lead, as he surrendered fourruns in the ninth, including a game ending three-runhome run byJohnny Callison.[12]
Radatz got off to a poor start to the 1965 season, blowing three save opportunities and posting a 7.54 ERA through May 14.[13] He settled down, bringing his ERA down to a far more respectable 3.91 and earning 22 saves by season's end, but his 9–11 mark was the first losing record he had posted in his major league career. Radatz's only career home run came off theKansas City Athletics'Jesse Hickman on June 5, 1965.[14] He was selected to theBoston Red Sox Hall of Fame in 1997.[15]
Radatz was mentioned in trade rumors with theLos Angeles Dodgers,Milwaukee Braves andMinnesota Twins during the off-season, but eventually returned to the Red Sox. He was 0–2 with a 4.74 ERA before being dealt to theCleveland Indians on June 2 forDon McMahon andLee Stange.[16]
Overall with Boston, Radatz saved 104 games (a team record later broken byBob Stanley) with a 49–34 record and 646 strikeouts in 576.1innings pitched. With the other four teams, he went only 6–20 with 26 saves in 117.2 innings.
Radatz went 0–3 with a 4.61 ERA inCleveland. He earned a combined 14 saves between his two teams in 1966, marking the first time in his career he failed to reach 20. He also failed to win a game as he ended the season with an 0–5 record.
Nine games into the 1967 season, Radatz was dealt to theChicago Cubs for a player to be named later. On June 9, Radatz pitched a scoreless ninth inning against theNew York Mets atWrigley Field to earn his first career win since September 14, 1965.[17] But in 21.2 innings pitched with the Cubs through July 7, Radatz surrendered 12hits, 23walks and hit five batters. He was sent down to the minors to work on his control, but was unable to regain it. In 34 innings pitched in the minors, Radatz surrendered 25 hits and 40 walks and hit eight batters.
The Cubs released Radatz during spring training of 1968. He signed with his hometown Detroit Tigers shortly afterwards, and spent the 1968 season with their Triple A affiliateToledo Mud Hens.[18] With Toledo, Dick was 6–7, 2.78 ERA, 24 GP, started 13 games, 5 CG, 3 SHO, 110.O IP, 103 K, 23 BB, and a WHIP of 0.973.[19] He earned a spot on the major league roster out of spring training 1969, and was 2–2 with a 3.32 ERA in 11 appearances when his contract was sold to theMontreal Expos at the June 15trade deadline.[20] He went 0–4 with a 5.71 ERA for the Expos before he was released in August.[21]
After leaving the game, Radatz worked at a number of jobs, had his own weekly radio show, and was a frequent guest on other sports talk radio shows. Radatz frequently suggested that contemporary relievers weren't durable enough and that his own experience was that when he didn't get used as much, he lost his edge. A resident ofFarmington Hills, Michigan, Radatz moved back to the Greater Boston area in 1984, living inEaston, Massachusetts, where former teammateJerry Moses had found him a job at a corrugated packaging company, Triple P Packaging. "I felt I had formed a love affair with this town, that I was appreciated by the fans here." Before his death in 2005, Radatz worked as pitching coach for theNorth Shore Spirit, an independent league team based inLynn, Massachusetts. The team was managed by former Red Sox infielderJohn Kennedy who was expecting Radatz to return for the 2005 season.[22]
Radatz died on March 16, 2005, after falling down a flight of stairs at his home inEaston, Massachusetts.[23] He left behind a wife and three children. The Red Sox held a moment of silence during their 2005 home opener in his honor.[24]
| Preceded by Luis Arroyo Stu Miller | American LeagueSaves Leader 1962 1964 | Succeeded by |
| Preceded by | Boston Red Sox MVP 1964 | Succeeded by Carl Yastrzemski |
